Late chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s niece Deepa Jayakumar on Sunday said she was attacked by security personnel at her aunt’s Poes Garden residence in the city.

High drama played out at the Poes Garden residence of Jayalalithaa, on Sunday afternoon, when Deepa was not allowed to enter it, triggering protests by her supporters.

Deepa, who recently floated her own party, said she had been invited to her aunt’s home by her brother Deepak. But when she reached there, she was stopped and roughed up by private security guards.

A cameraperson of an English news channel, who had accompanied her, was assaulted too, forcing journalists to stage a protest.

Stating that there was a plot to kill her, Deepa said Deepak had “conspired with Sasikala family to kill my aunt Jayalalithaa”. “Jayalalithaa was like a mother to him, but for the sake of money, he turned against her and killed her,” she said.

Deepa, who claimed that she had been receiving death threats for the past few days, said she was contemplating initiating legal action against Deepak and Sasikala’s family for the “attack” on her.

She added that she had been receiving threats on phone and through letters and that she had sought police protection. She also said she would meet prime minister Narendra Modi.